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SPEECH 



HON. JAMES H. BERRY, 



OK ^RIv^VXSAS, 



SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, 



MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 1900. 



WASHINGTON. 

1900. 

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SPEECH 



OF 



HON. JAMES H. B E R E Y . 



Mr. BERRY. Mr. President, I ask to have read the joint reso- 
lution introduced by the Senator from Georgia [Mr. Bacon] on 
the 18th day of December with reference to the disposition of the 
Pliilippine Islands. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, the Secre- 
tary will read the joint resolution introduced by the Senator from 
Georgia, wnich is on the table. 

The Secretary read the joint resolution (S. R. 45) declaring the 

purpose of the United States with reference to the Philippine 

Islands, as follows: 

, Resolved by the Senate and House of Eepresentatires of the United States of 
America in Congress assembled. That the Government and people of the 
United States have not waged the recent war with Spain for conquest and for 
the acquisition of foreign territory, but solely for the purposes sot forth in 
the resolution of Congress making the declaration of war— the acquisition of 
such small tracts of land or harbors as may be necessary for governmental 
purposes being not deemed inconsistent with the same. 

Sec. 3. That in demanding and in receiving the cession of the Philippine 
Islands it is not the purpose of the Govei'nment of the United States to se- 
cure and maintain permanent dominion over the same as a part of the terri- 
tory of the United States, or to permanently incorporate the inhabitants 
thereof as citizens of the United States, or to liold .said inhabitants as vassals 
or subjects of this Government; and the United States hereby disclaim any 
disposition or intention to exercise permanent sovereignty, jurisdiction, or 
control over said islands. 

Sec. 3. That the United States, having accepted the cession of the Philip- 
pine Islands from Spain, and having by force of arms overthi'own all organ- 
ized aiithority and opposition to the authority of the United States therein, 
the duty and obligation rest upon the United States to restore peace and 
maintain order throughout the same; to protect in said islands the enjoy- 
ment of life and property and the pursuit of lawful avocations; and to con- 
tinue such protection until the power and duty to maintain said protection 
shall have been transferred and intrusted by the United States to a govern- 
ment of the people of said islands deemed capable and vrorthy to esercice 
said power and discharge said duty. 

Sec. 4. That when armed resistance to the authority of the United States 
shall have ceased V\'ithin .said islands, and peace and order shall have been 
restored therein, it is the purpose and intention of the United States, so soon 
3951 3 



thercaftor as tlie sanio ran bo practically and safely accomplished, to pro- 
vide the opportunity and prescribe the niethocl for the formation of a gov- 
ernment by and of the people of the Philippine Islands, to be thereafter in- 
dependently exercised and controlled by themselves, it being the design of 
tlie United States to accord to the people of said islands the same measure of 
liberty and independence which have been pledged by the Congress of the 
United States to the jseople of Cuba. 

Sec. 5. That when a stable government shall, by the method aforesaid, 
have been duly formed and erected in said islands, competent and worthy, 
in tlie judgment of the United States, to exercise the powers of an independ- 
ent government and to preserve peace and maintain order within its juris- 
diction, it is the purpose and intention of the United States, reserving to 
themselves only sucli harbors and tracts of land as may be needed for coal- 
ing stations or other governmental purposes, to transfer to said government, 
upon terms which shall be reasonable and just, all rights and territory se- 
cured in said islands under the treaty with Spain, and to thereupon leave 
the dominion and control of the islands to their people. 

Sec. 6. That when said government has been thus formed and set up in the 
Philippine Islands and approved by the United States, it is the design and 
intention of the United States, through treaties with the leading nations of 
the world, to secure the guaranty of the continued independence of the same. 

Mr. BERRY. Mr. President, I desire also to have read the 
joint resolution introduced by the Senator from Indiana [Mr. 
Beveridge] in regard to the course to be pursued with reference 
to the Philippine Islands. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, the joint 
resolution will be read. 

The Secretary read the joint resolution (S. R. 53) defining the 

policy of the United States relative to the Philippine Islands, as 

follows: 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives, etc.. That the Philip- 
pine Islands are territory belonging to the United States; that it is the inten- 
tion of the United States to retain them as such and to establish and main- 
tain such governmental control throughout the archipelago as the situation 
may demand. 

Mr. BERRY. Mr. President, at the time the treaty between the 
United States and Spain was pending in the Senate for ratifica- 
tion there were a large number of Senators here who believed it 
to be the wisest and best policy to insert in that treaty a provision 
making the same promises in regard to giving free government to 
the people of the Philippine Islands which Congress had, when the 
declaration of war with Spain was made, given to the people of 
Cuba. 

Those who opposed that amendment of the treaty insisted at that 
time that it was important the treaty should be ratified at once 
in order that war should cease; that the whole question would be 

39-.1 



left open to the disposition of Congress thereafter, and that no 
prejudice -would come to those who desired to finally dispose of 
the Philippine Islands in the same manner which was thought 
proper in the case of Cuba by the ratification of the treaty of peace. 
ThePj-esident himself said that Congress would have entire juris- 
diction of the matter; and those who argued against that amend- 
ment repeatedly stated upon this floor that when the subject 
came before Congress the entire question would be open for full 
discussion. 

Now, Mr. President, the time has come when resolutions are 
presented here representing, I take it, the different views of the 
people of the United States as to the course to be pursued. And 
now, when those who believe that the Philippine people should be 
entitled to the same rights and privileges which we had promised 
to give to the Cuban people undertake to debate the subject upon 
the floor of the Senate, we are told that we are aiding those who 
are in rebellion against the United States; that we are giving aid 
and comfort to men with arms in their hands, who are shooting at 
our soMiers, and that we, who opposed from the very beginning 
the method which has been pursued, are responsible for the de.tth 
of our gallant soldiers who have fallen or who may fall in those 
islands. I submit to the Senate and to the people of the United 
States whether or not this is fair treatment. 

I furthermore say that I apprehend that no man imbued with 
proper principles, who believes that the course proposed by the reso- 
lution offered by the Senator from Indiana will have the effect 
eventually to destroy this Republic, who believes that another 
course should be pursued, will not, I take it, be deterred from 
expressing that opinion because of such grave charges against 
him, which are unwarranted by the facts. 

These two resolutions, the one presented by the Senator from 
Georgia and the other by the Senator from Indiana, as I believe, 
fairly represent the different views of the two great parties 
thronghout the United States of America. The main featux-es of 
the resolution by the Senator from Georgia will be indovsed and 
supported by all those who believe we in this country are yet 
bound by a written Constitution, by all those v/ho believe in the 
principles laid down in the Declaration of Independence, by all 



3951 



6 

those who believe that we should follow the advice of the fathers 
of the Republic when they said we should avoid entangling alli- 
ances with foreign nations. 

On the other hand, the resolution introduced by the Senator 
from Indiana, as I infer from the surroundings, represents the 
views of the President of the United States and the members of 
his Administration. I say I assume it represents the views of the 
President because of the Senator who introduced it, because it 
has been indorsed by the leading Administration newspapers 
throughout the country, and because of the countenance, encour- 
agement, and congratulations which were showered upon the Sen- 
ator from Indiana by high Cabinet officials and others connected 
with the Administration. I therefore submit that these two reso- 
lutions join issue, which is to be submitted throughout the United 
States to the American people, as to the final disposition of the 
Philippine Islands. 

The resolution introduced by the Senator from Indiana asserts, 
in my opinion, a power as absolute as was ever claimed by the 
most despotic government the world has ever known. Neither 
the Czar of Russia nor the Emperor of Germany could claim more 
absolute power than is claimed in the resolution introduced by 
the Senator from Indiana. He says that those islands shall be 
controlled as the situation demands. The Congress of the United 
States are to judge of what the situation there demands, and are 
then to exercise such control as in their judgment they may think 
necessary. 

We are not to be restrained by the written Constitution of the 
United States of America; we are not to be handicapped by any 
rights or privileges which those people may claim. If the situa- 
tion demands it, under that resolution there is no power which 
has ever been exercised by the greatest and most despotic govern- 
ment in this world which can not be exercised there. If the situ- 
ation demands it, we may imprison men for an unlimited time 
without informing them of the nature of the charges against 
them; we may inflict capital punishment without confronting 
them with witnesses, without trial, and without jury. 

Louis XIV of France in the very height of his power, when he 
filled the Bastile with men without informing them of the char- 

3951 



acter of the charges against them, never exercised more despotic 
power than is proposed to be lodged in the Congress of the United 
States by the joint resolution offered by the Senator from Indiana. 
And yet we find men in high position who say that it is "non- 
sense to call this imperialism." I shonld like to ask, Mr. Presi- 
dent, what is imperialism, if it be not the assertion of a power 
that we, and we alone, are the judges of what is necessary, and 
that we will exercise such control as the situation demands? 

I assert, then, that that resolution, indorsed by the President of 
the United States and by the members of this Administration, if 
it is to be the policy to be pursued, is imperialism, absolute and 
unconditional. It is hardly necessary for me to say that I am un- 
alterably and forever opposed to any such assertion of power by 
the Government of the United States. I believe we are restrained 
by a written Constitution, which we have sworn to support, and 
I believe that the happiness of this people will be best secured by 
following that Constitution. 

But, Mr. President, let us see what arguments are brought for- 
ward to sustain the position which has been taken, so different 
from those which have controlled the Republic in all of its past his- 
tory; let us see what reasons are given by those who advocate such 
a iDolicy as to why we should depart from the principles laid down 
by Jefferson and the founders of the Republic. There are but 
tAvo main reasons I have ever heard given; and yet, Mr. President, 
they are not good reasons. The same reasons that are given to- 
day why we should pursue this course of conduct in the Philip- 
pines have been given, I think, by every government in the history 
of the past which has sought to acquire additional territory by 
force of arms, or sought to crush out the liberties of another 
people. The reasons given in this case, I say, have been given in 
every case where governments have sought to gain territory by 
force and without right and without justice. 

The first of these reasons is that it is the will of the Lord, that 
the Lord has selected certain persons as trustees. To use the 
exact language of the Senator from Indiana, "He has selected 
them as trustees under Him, and has marked them as His chosen 
people hereafter to lead in the regeneration of the world." 

Mr. President, when an American citizen has such confidence 
3951 



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in his own ability and in liis own judgment as to believe that the 
Lord has selected him to do the identical things %Yhich the Lord 
has said shall not be done, I realize that that man is in a condition 
of mind incapable of judging impartially. When men assume 
that they are trustees of the Lord to violate His written word I 
want some testimony besides their own assertion that they have 
any such trusteeship. 

The Good Book of the Lord says, " Thou shalt not Idll;" "Thou 
shalt not steal;" "Thou shalt not bear false witness;" and yet 
men will come and say that the Lord has made them His trustees 
to commit every one of these acts upon which he has put the seal 
of His condemnation. And I say they are mistaken about their 
appointment. 

As I said, Mr. President, this is not the first time this power 
has been claimed. If I correctly remember history, when Mo- 
hammed sought to conquer the entire world and impose his 
peculiar religious views upon all people, his soldiers went to battle 
with the cry, "There is but one God and Mohammed is His 
prophet." And when they murdered helpless women and chil- 
dren they said, "It is the will of the Lord; it is the will of the 
Lord." 

When the Spanish Government was at the height of its iiower, 
when those who ruled it argued that it was necessary that they 
should expand their territory in order that they might grow and 
live, they, sent Cortez to Mexico and Pizarro to Peru, where their 
paths were marked by death and desolation, by burning houses and 
murdered women and children, and yet they claimed this was all 
done In the name of the Lord, though its real object was to in- 
crease Spanish commerce and to poiar wealth into the lap of the 
Spanish nation. 

So, Mr. President, it has been everywhere, and it is even so to- 
day. I think that I have read somewhere that the Emperor of 
Germany asserts that he is the head trustee, representing the Lord 
in the regeneration of the world. Those are the kinds of argu- 
ments which are urged upon us to induce us to violate the Con- 
stitution of the United States, to induce us to trample on every 
precept of our fathers, to induce us to do an act indeed which, in 
my opinion, no time can ever cure and which will eventually de- 

3951 



9 

Btroy the very foundations of the Government itsolf. I deny the 
authority of those who clixhn such a trusteeship. I call for the 
proof of the appointment of these pretended trustees. I say such 
a trusteeship does not exist, for it would be folly to argue that a 
man who does wrong is following out the precepts of Him who 
taught us that order and truth and justice were the great virtues 
of mankind. 

Mr. President, what is the other argument? It is that these 
men are trustees for the regeneration of the world, and they also 
claim that it will pay to do that work; that it will bring wealth 
into the lap of this nation; that it will increase our commerce and 
open the ports of China to us; that if we pursue such a course the 
country will grow greater, and stronger, and richer. I deny that 
proposition. It is true that such a course may bring wealth to 
some individuals, but I deny that it will bring wealth and pros- 
perity to the great body of the American people. And yet the 
argument has been used recently, and an appeal has been made to 
the people of the Southern States especially, that if we adopt the 
policy of controlling by absolute force and power the Philippine 
Islands, denying them the right to govern themselves, which we 
promised to the people of Cuba, it will tend to increase the com- 
merce of the South; that our citizens engaged in the growing and 
manufacture of cotton will have additional markets for their 
products and thus the price of cotton will be increased. 

Mr. President, I assert here to-day that if we should adopt the res- 
olution offered by the Senator from Georgia, immediately through- 
out the archipelago we would be granted every right, every privi- 
lege of commerce that we can secure by force: that those people 
would be glad to yield to us all rights in the way of coaling and 
naval stations we may desire; that they would be glad to grant us 
the privileges of free trade as to the importation and exportation 
of goods, and that there is no advantage in the way of commerce 
which would not come with additional force if we shoiild make 
this peaceful and just and fair settlement with the Filipinos. 

On the contrary, so far as the cotton spinners of the South are 

concerned, it seems to me that if we are to wield absolute power 

in the Philippines, the great trusts of the United States, the men 

of wealth, the men who have urged the President to this un- 

3951 



10 

American course wliicli lie lias imrsned, would hy their combined 
Avealth and direct taxation in the Philippines secure labor at acost 
of lu cents adaj*, erect cotton factories there, secnre special privi- 
leges from the governor-general, and thereby competing with the 
people of the South in the price of cotton goods, absolutely put- 
ting cotton at ruinous prices. There is no difficulty there, I am 
told, in getting any amount of labor at 10 cents a day. If laborers 
there should ask more than 10 cents a day, the governor-general 
whom you send there with this unlimited power would no doubt 
use such power to fix such price as he should choose. Oh, but you 
may say, this will not be done. 

I state, Mr. President, that under the resolution of the Senator 
from Indiana it can be done. We have been before told where 
unlimited power was sought .that it would never be used. Away 
back in the days of 18G8, when there were Senators on this floor 
who urged that reconstruction measures should be passed, we 
were told that American citizens would never abuse such power. 
Senators then contended that if the power was given they feared 
it would be used. The power was given, and we all remember the 
abuse which followed. For four years robbery, oppression, and 
every form of injustice prevailed to such an extent that it shocked 
the civilized world and brought a stain upon the American name. 
To tell me that if you grant absolute power unrestrained by the 
Constitution your governor-general and j'our carpetbaggers sent 
to distant islands will never abuse that power is to tell me what I 
do not believe. 

But, Mr. President, whether it would pay in the South or not, 
1 have such confidence in the Southern . people that I believe the 
first question they will ask will be. "Is the policy just? Is it fair?" 
They will not, in my judgment, consider for one moment the bene- 
fits which may come to them until they have first determined 
whether the course proposed is in accordance with the Declaration 
of Independence and the Constitution of the United States and is 
right in itself. It has been the pride and the glory of the South- 
ern people from the time this Government was organized to hold 
liberty, truth, and justice far above all money consideration. 

Mr. President, if you ask the Southern people to use force to 
strike down the liberties of the Phil ipiiine people, to deny them the 
3951 



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riglit of self-government, they will not forget that in the great 
contest with the United States in the civil war nineteen-twentieths 
of tliose who fought in the Southern army did not fight to extend 
and perpetuate slavery, but they fought for the rights of home 
rule and local self-government, because they believed those rights 
were guaranteed to them by the Declaration of Intlependence. 
Therefore, I trust that that people will not recede from the high 
and lofty position which they have always taken, and that they 
will contend that truth and justice and honor are still to stand far 
above the personal gain that you hold out to them in such glittering 
generalities. 

As I have stated, Mr. President, these are the two main argu- 
ments which have been used why the policy should be pursued 
which the Administration seeks to justify. Let us see for a 
Lioment. I promise to be brief in that regard. What are the 
facts which led us to the present situation? Some three hundred 
or more years ago— I do not recall the exact time— Spain by her 
arms had conquered the inhabitants of the island of Cuba and of 
the Philippine Islands. She has exercised over them since that 
time a colonial government; she has ruled them precisely as the 
present Administration proposes to rule the inhabitants of the 
Philippines to-day; she has given them the most cruel, the most 
oppressive government under which any people have ever lived. 

From time to time in desperation the people of those countries 
sought to throw off the Spanish authority and to win the liber- 
ties to which all people are entitled. Once or twice, when victory 
was almost within their grasp, the promises of Spain for better 
government, for autonomy, for home rule and local government, 
induced the people to lay down their arms, and just as regularly 
as they did so Spain forgot her promises, and no reform was ever 
made. This had gone to such an extent that in 1898, after some 
three years of insurrection in the Cuban Isle, when the outrages 
perpetrated by the Spanish soldiers were so great, and the suffer- 
ings of starving women and the starving children were depicted 
in the Senate aud throughout the United States, the American 
people rose almost as one man and said that these outrages right 
under the shadow of our flag should continue no longer; they said 
that Spain must withdraw her power or war would result. 
3951 



12 

Mr. President, so particular and so cautious were the people of 
the United States that they should not be misunderstood, that thej' 
might not be accused of improper motives in the declaration of 
war made by Congress, any disposition was disclaimed to acquire 
territory, and there was also disclaimed any selfish purpose on the 
part of this Government, basing its action upon the broad ground 
of humanity, to enable the oppressed people of Cuba to secure to 
themselves the best possible kind of government, and that they 
should be free and independent; and I assert to-day that while the 
Philippine Islands were not named in that resolution, this Govern- 
ment is in honor bound to give them the same free government 
that we promised Cuba. 

"What was the result? Our young men in every part of the 
country rushed to arms with an enthusiasm and a patriotism 
which has never been excelled, and the glorious victories in the 
harbor of Manila and the harbor of Santiago and on the hills of 
San Juan showed what a great and free people couM do when 
they were actuated by disinterested motives and only sought to 
relieve the oppressed of another country. 

What was the condition at that time of the people of the Philip- 
pines? They, too, had sought liberty, they had been on the verge 
of victory, then promises were made to them, and they laid down 
their arms; but when the people of those islands heard that this 
great Republic, which desires that all people shall be free, was at 
war with their long-time oppressor, I can imagine the joy that 
thrilled the hearts of the people throughout the entire islands 
when they heard that Dewey had destroyed the naval power of 
their oppressor in the harbor of Manila. 

There was not more rejoicing throughout the United States of 
America than there was throughout the Philippines. They hoped 
the time would come when their long-sought-for liberty and inde- 
pendence would be within their grasp. If they had had any 
doubt before, when Admiral Dewey put their exiled leaders at 
Hongkong upon American ships and brought them back with 
others to the islands, placed arms and ammunitions and supplies 
in their hands, their breasts were so full of hope that within a 
few weeks they rallied with such enthusiasm as to drive the 
Spaniards from every province except that of Manila. 
3951 



In 
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They were only prevented from taking it by the advice of the 
American commanders. Knowing that we had promised the 
Cuban people that they should be free, knowing that they had 
aided us and that they had been our allies in the contest with the 
Spaniards in Manila, can you imagine that they did not expect 
and believe that the same treatment would be given them? And 
when it began to dawn on their minds that there was doubt about 
it, naturally, having dealt with Spain, they became uneasy and 
suspicious. They sent a man here to see the President of the 
United States, to offer this Government any kind of concession 
that it might demand. He came here in good faith, and yet the 
President refused even to give him audience. Not only that, but 
the Administration newspapers of this city denounced him as a 
spy and threatened to have him court-martialed and shot if he re- 
mained in the country. Finally he fled to Canada, and from there 
to England or France or to some other country. 

Mr. President, not only this, but when the Peace Commission 
met at Paris, then, for the first time, it was given out that it was 
the intention of the United States to purchase and permanently 
hold the absolute sovereignty of those islands. Then it was, after 
the treaty was signed, but before it was ratified by the Senate, 
that the President of the United States issued that unfortunate 
proclamation of December 28, known as the benevolent assimila- 
tion proclamation. Bear in mind that this was done before the 
Senate had agreed to the treaty; that it was done at a time when 
we were seeking to get an amendment on the treaty, making the 
same promise to the Philippines which we had made to Cuba. 
He thi n put forth that declaration which claimed absolute sover- 
eignty for the United States, and notified them that we would take 
possession of the islands. The Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. 
Hoar], a few days since, furnished the absolute and incontro- 
vertible testimony that it was that proclamation which brought 
on the clash of arms and which has caused all the suffering. So 
certain was General Otis that it would cause bloodshed that he 
struck out portions of it, but the Filipinos secured a copy of the 
original. 

I assert here to-day that if the President had stated in his proc- 
lamation that he had no doubt Congress would grant them the 

3951 



14 

same rights and privileges that Ave bad promised Cuba, there 
woukl never have been a gun fired, and all this expenditure of 
money and all this loss of life of our best and our bravest soldiers 
would have been avoided. It came from that proclamation. 
There the responsibility rests, and there is no power to relieve 
those of it who are responsible for it. I will do the President the 
justice to say that I do not believe he did it willingly. I believe 
that he yielded after long pressure, after the persuasion and im- 
portunity of those who sought this mode of procedure for com- 
mercial speculation for themselves, and that the President of the 
United States only yielded after they had made him believe that 
a majority of the people of the United States approved that course. 

But, Mr. President, he did yield, and the responsibility rests 
upon him and those who induced him to issue that proclamation, 
and not upon the men who tried to avoid it. I do not think it is 
either brave or manly or truthful for those who are responsible 
for the issuance of that proclamation, and who refused to grant 
the people of the Philippines the same rights we had promised to 
Ciiba, to come here "howling like slaves whipped to their bur- 
den,'" and say, "You all did it because you opposed our course." 
If I had believed that I was a trustee under God to bring more 
wealth to this nation and my advice had been followed, I never 
would have come back and sought to avoid all responsibility and 
to charge upon the men who had used every effort to secure a 
peaceful settlement that they were chargeable with the death of 
our soldiers. 

But that is the condition presented to-day. Mr. President, it is 
not yet too late. It is too late to save the lives of the brave Law- 
ton and many others who have fallen there; it is too late to call 
back the expenditure of money; but it is not too late for this great 
and free Government of ours to disclaim responsibility for these 
wrongs and to do that which is right. If we to-day, followed by 
the House of Representatives and the President, would adopt the 
resolution proposed by the Senator from Georgia, I assert that not 
another gun would be fired in the archipelago. 

I believe we should do an act which would place this great Gov- 
ernment upon the highest pinnacle of fame. We stand to-day 
equal or superior to any other nation in the world. There is no 
3951 



15 

human being who could claim that in doing this act of justice 
we are actuated by any motive except an honest one, or that we 
right the wrong which has been done through fear. We are 
the absolute masters of the situation. If, occupying that position, 
we rise to the necessities of this great occasion and assure these 
people that they shall be free, we will prove to the world that we 
were honest when v/e said that we went to war not for conquest, 
but in order to give freedom to others. I assert that if we should 
do that we would command the respect of every nation in the 
world and deserve the love and admiration of our own people. 

But we ave told it is too late. We are told again and again that 
the majority of the people of the United States have approved the 
policy of the President. Mr. President, I do not know how that 
is. Neither do the men know who make the assertion. I believe 
that if to-day a vote should be taken on these resolutions, discon- 
nected from party politics, removed from all the great questions 
which divide the two political parties, if it could be submitted 
fairly to the country, an overwhelming majority would declare in 
favor of the resolution of the Senator from Georgia. We know 
that an overwhelming majority of the Democrats in the country 
are in favor of it. We know that the great body of our German 
and Irish American citizens are in favor of it. We know that the 
laboring people from one end of this country to the other indorse 
it and favor it, and that the great organization known as the Fed- 
eration of Labor, said to represent 800,000 workingmen, but re- 
cently unanimously indorsed it. 

We know, too, that there are thousands of Republicans who be- 
lieve that the course of the Administration is inexcusable and 
unjustifiable, but their party allegiance and other great questions 
which are involved in the contest between the two parties prevent 
them from saying so. If anyone passes an opinion that a majority 
of the people of the country favor the President's policy, I say he 
does not know, and I do not know, but I believe a majority of the 
people of America believe in honor and justice, and I think I know 
that honor, good faith, and justice demand that we should give 
to these people the same freedom that we have promised to the 
people of Cuba. I believe that the future hope and prosperity of 
this country depend upon pursuing the course laid down in the 
3951 



LitJKHKY Uh t;UNbKti>i> 



013 744 697 2 



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16 

resolution offered by the Senator from Georgia, and wliether a 
majority be for it or against it, speaking for myself and believing 
that the honor of the Republic in which vve live is involved, be- 
lieving that no other course which we can pursue is honorable, no 
power on this earth could make me support resolutions of the 
character o.Tered by the Senator from Indiana [Mr. Bevekidge] 
or pursue the course advocated by the Administration and a Inrge 
number of Republicans throughout the country. 

But, Mr. President, when all other arguments fail, when those 
who favor these un-American and unconstitu.tional methods can 
find no other words, they fall back and say that wherever the flag 
once floats there it shall stay. It seems to me that the men who 
made this Government great in the past, that our ancestors who 
wrote the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, would 
answer that proposition and say that if the American flag can not 
float at any particiilar point in honor it had best not float at all. 
But I think I will answer this last argument in the language of a 
prominent lawyer in my own State, who but a few days ago said 
that '• those who seek to raise theAmerican flag above the crashed 
liberties of another people have already begun to haul it down 
from the Capitol of their own country." Such is my belief, and, 
believing so, I trust that whatever feeling may have been engen- 
dered in the past in regard to this matter, the calm and deliberate 
judgment of the Senate will be brought to the consideration of 
these resoliations, 
1 believe with the Senator from Massachusetts that it is the most 
- important question which has confronted the American people for 
\ century. I believe upon this action will depend, in a large 
measure, the stability of the Republic in which we live, and I trust, 
then, withoiit feeling, without party prejudice, the Senate will rise 
•to the high position which it has occupied in the past and will 
reaffirm the declaration laid down when we declared war against 
Spain, that we did not fight for conquest, that we fought to liber- 
ate the distressed and give them a free government, and having 
jilanted ourselves upon that high doctrine, that we will not place 
a stain upon the fair name of this Republic by using the power 
which has come to us from a war begun for freedom to wrong and 
oppress another people. 

3931 

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